ZZZ
T
he sign says it all. Ten tall letters perched high on
a hillside above the airport. The original plan was
for them to read ‘Wellywood’, a reference to the
city’s recent contribution to world cinema. But the locals
deemed this too predictable. So instead, the sign says
‘Wellington’, with the last three letters apparently blown
off course by two swirly, blustery lines.
By most indices, New Zealand’s capital is the world’s
windiest city — a fact with which it seems entirely
comfortable. Down on the waterfront you’ll find a bronze
statue of a naked man, leaning into the breeze. It’s a pose
every Wellingtonian knows all too well. It doesn’t help
matters that it’s a particularly hilly metropolis, so much
so that many houses have their own private funiculars.
But these challenges seem to have helped forge the city’s
sense of identity; I’ve even heard some locals admit the
icy blast of the dreaded Antarctic ‘southerly’ wind makes
them feel strangely at home.
For all its dubious weather, Wellington is an impressive
place, a mini San Francisco with a bohemian streak and
idyllic bayside location. The seat of government it may
be, but there’s a palpable coolness here that takes you by
surprise. Yet that central tenet of the hipster revolution
— the stripping away of bland distractions, so as to focus
WELLINGTON
City life
On the windswept southern tip of New Zealand’s
North Island sits one of the world’s coolest capitals:
a confident, creative, harbourside city where
good living is second nature. WORDS: Glen Mutel
on what’s really of value — has been the Wellington
way for the best part of two decades, ever since it first
emerged as one of the world’s coffee capitals.
Nowhere is this enlightened approach more evident
than in the Laneways, a series of narrow thoroughfares in
the CBD (Central Business District), currently being
spruced up by the city council. The pick of these is the
little alley between Leeds and Eva street, home to a micro
chocolate factory, bottled soda shop, cocktail bar, craft
brewer, boutique coffeehouse and a tiny basement outlet
(Fix and Fogg) selling intriguing varieties of peanut
butter out of a small, ankle-level window.
As alleyways go, it certainly packs a punch, and it’s a
great starting point for any newcomer. But, in reality, it
doesn’t require much planning to catch Wellington at its
sparkling best. Within my first 48 hours here, I’d watched
an Iranian documentary at an arthouse cinema; dined
three tables away from Peter Jackson; drank craft beer in
a converted garage; watched chocolate being made from
scratch; sipped nitrogen-enriched iced-coffee dispensed
from a pump; and eaten oysters by the waterside.
Compact, cosmopolitan and full of character,
Wellington really is a first-timer’s dream. Just remember
to pack a few layers.November 2016 149